The Night Part II (Daredevil)
by marussek
Summary: Daredevil reluctantly has a shadow


Part IV

"Stop!" He said in a harsh whisper, "You can't go there!" She kept moving, down and around the fire escape, then she ran across the short alley, jumping over trash, leaping up the catch the bars and pull herself upward. She was strong and quick, just like him.  
"There's no time to waste! I know CPR! Do you?" She spoke breathlessly but still put anger and impatience in her voice.

He gave up, he'd have to deal with this later. She jumped into a darkened window and he felt her crouching by an inert body. She moved the head back, blew a strong breath into a foul mouth, and started pumping on the massive round chest, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, then another strong breath. He snuck inside as well, still paying attention to her breaths, but noticing the smell of spilled spirits. He found a glass on the carpet, a strong smell of whiskey that his heightened senses recoiled from. Nothing else was disturbed but under that strong smell was a slight chemical smell, something that might even be strong enough to stop an already enlarged heart.

She kept breathing, then pumping, breathing, pumping. "Rub his arms and legs, keep the circulation going, he's going to need it."

He did that, feeling the turgid mass under his hands, rolls of fat, a smell of cigarettes and despair.

"Let me pump his chest, I understand the rhythm, you breath."

"Okay." She nodded her head. She didn't know he was blind.

He pumped, fully and completely. She was strong, but he felt a change, and a minute later, a coughing, sputtering noise revealed the now alive man was coming around.

"We need to call 911! He won't make it without immediate care, we might lose him again!"

Daredevil agreed but they had to go. He silently motioned for her to go out the window. They went up the roof and he dialed 911.

"911, please state your emergency." The placid, bored voice at the other end was not inviting. He handed the phone to the girl, she would sound more desperate plus even in this crisis, he had to protect his identity.

"Please send help! My neighbor's had a heart attack!" She quickly gave the address and even the apartment number.

"You're going to break down the door, he's stuck inside and can't reach, he's been moaning for help for ten minutes! Oh, please! It's urgent! He's such a sweet man! His grandchildren will be homeless without him!" She kept this up until they heard the sirens.

Daredevil hung up the phone and grabbed her. He took a leap across a short span to the next roof and after a breathless moment where she was afraid, she leapt. He caught her by the belt just in time.

She collapsed against him, hot and sweaty, but round and firm. He could feel that part of himself he had little control over growing warm. He gently but firmly pushed her back.

Part V

"Look, I appreciate the help tonight, but I really can't risk you following me. This has to stop. I know it's not right for me to tell you this, but you have your whole life ahead of you, I don't want it to end because of me. I deal with really bad people, the worst." He thought of Claire, broken and bleeding in a parking garage. If he had been five minutes too late…

"What, you mean like Wilson Fisk?" He visibly flinched at the name. Even behind bars wasn't enough. "Yeah, I know about him, we all do. Everyone who's lived here at the bottom knows about him. You couldn't protect me before and I lost everything. Now, I have nothing to lose."

"What about your life? You could lose your life." He thought of Mrs. Cardenas, full of fight and spirit now resting with the angels.

"At this point, that's the least of my concerns. I know I can help you. Everyone can use a friend. You aren't a superhero you know, you're just a man, a person. All I am is a person. I have two hands that can fight crime, too."

"Why don't you try being a cop, then? They pay cops. I don't get paid." Now that the force was mostly clean, they were looking for a few good men. Or women.

"I can't. I have a rap sheet from youthful hijinks. Besides, I'm more the lone wolf type, I don't do good on teams, especially dirty teams that cheat." So she knew, she knew there were dirty cops. Why would he be surprised? Wilson Fisk had owned half the force. If a common citizen couldn't afford to pay, they couldn't afford good policing.

He sighed. He kept his friends protected, he kept them out of what he did, heck they kept themselves out of what he did whenever possible.

"How did you know that man's heart stopped?" She whirled around, she'd been facing the city, maybe looking out at the lights, he couldn't be sure.

"I just did, I could feel it." While he had heard that heart stop. Was she somehow like him? Maybe had more senses? How?

"Do you have other things you can feel?" Stick had told him he was rare but not unique, yet he would bet she had all of her other senses. She could see Foggy just fine.

"Well, I sense things right before they happen. Although two weeks before 9/11 I couldn't sleep at all. Right before my neighbor was stabbed to death, I felt a dread for about a month, and the night she died, I felt pain here and here. And here. Sharp stabbing pain." She sounded sad, lost. There were probably even more moments, he could sense there was more she wouldn't or couldn't say about this gift.

Part VI

"I'm not saying you can help, I'm not agreeing to anything, but don't do this alone. If I'm around, come find me, I'm here most nights." He put the zip ties back in his deep pocket.

"I know, I could sense you. I saw you a few times. I come out at night because…well I just come out at night. I don't like people very much and they don't like me." The mold smell jogged his mind. Homeless hiding in a basement, he could see it in his mind's eye, memories of basements. He was sure she didn't have a job. Tomorrow he'd try to change that with Foggy. If he could keep her busy and employed during the day, she'd be too tired to come out at night. He could do this.

"What should I call you?" She had a name for him, he only knew her real name but certainly couldn't call her that now.

"Um, I don't have a cool name like you. You seem to be collecting them like Pokemon cards or something."

He laughed, a first in a long time. "Night Angel, since I'm the devil. I don't expect you to leave a calling card but I can call you that, maybe just Angel."

She laughed, "I'm the last girl you'd call Angel. I like Night Angel. Okay. Well, until next time I guess. I'm not sensing any more excitement." She was embarrassed. Again, he felt that tightness. Yes, it was time for them to part.

He jogged off and took a leap, going to the next roof. He knew she wouldn't follow, the space was a bit larger than the last.

Yes, getting her a job was a top priority, then he and Foggy could teach her the legal avenues to fight the bad guys. She would be safe. But what about his feelings for her? He would have to guard himself and guard her. Emotions could be dangerous for everyone.


End file.
